Dream birthday in La La Land
After a long flight, we picked up our car and headed out to the Marriott at Long Beach. We chose this as a base to explore the beaches and surrounding areas and the hotel was perfect for that. Redondo Beach, Long Beach and Huntington Beaches are all a short drive away. We drove over to Redondo Beach for dinner and it was amazing to see and hear the seals behind the Portofino Hotel. The following day we drove up to classy seaside resort of Santa Barbara. We had an amazing lunch at the fabulous Belmond hotel which is set above the town. It's a beautiful hotel, effortless service, great food, tranquil rooms and stunning views. Lunch on the terrace could have lasted hours as we soaked up the views down past the palm trees and across the blue ocean. We popped into the town just to check out Brophy Brothers which was on the pier by the marina. A relaxed place, lovely long bar, great burgers and chilled Californian wine. We clocked the Best Western Beachside on the way through town, as a good value option right across the road from the beach. I was determined to see surfers in action on the trip, so we came off the road at Rincon Point, and it was a bit of a Point Break moment, seeing the office workers exchange their pinstriped suits for wetsuits, grab the board and head out onto the ocean. There was a shack on the beach to grab a drink, and it felt like it was the sort of place that you could just sit and watch the world go by for a few hours. Back on the road, we hugged the coast on the historic El Camino road, the wind in our hair we wanted to make it to Malibu to watch the sunset on another pier. We grabbed some refreshments in the Malibu Farm café / restaurant (as seen at the end of the film Taken) and then back on the road to Santa Monica.
Here we stayed at the wonderful Fairmont Miramar hotel: Two great things about this hotel: - The bungalows which are lovely little accommodations in the grounds of the hotel, some connect, and they have various sizes, but all have loads of beach house chic character. - And THE Bungalow – nothing like where your Nan used to live – this is one of the coolest bars in LA, chilled beach/college chic, and I have a contact to get you on the guest list! Really fun, great cocktails and definitely the place to be.
It was great to spend some time exploring around Santa Monica. The beach is amazing and the iconic Santa Monica Pier was a highlight - and marks the end of the legendary Route 66. Santa Monica has a lovely laid-back feel. It's a great place for wandering around the shops, restaurants and bars but is also another great base for exploring LA. Venice Beach is a short drive away and downtown LA is easily accessible by car or metro or bus.
The next day we ventured south to Dana Point to take a trip out with Captain Dave to meet up with the local dolphins - all 5000 of them and 3 hump back whales, and it was the most impressive marine life trip I’d been on. Our next stop was Hollywood and the fabulous Loews Hollywood hotel. I often recommend this hotel to clients as it's in a great location for exploring this part of LA. Right on Hollywood Boulevard, you can step straight out on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with the famous 'stars' on the pavement and the Chinese Theatre and only a mile from the Hollywood Bowl and 1 metro stop to Universal Studios. We had a gorgeous, spacious suite and we opened our curtains in the morning to see the HOLLYWOOD sign, and a little closer was the chapel from the Sister Act movie. We also had a look around the nearby W hotel which has some great rooms with an amazing lobby space with a modern bar which would be great for people-watching!
As it was a 'significant' birthday I wanted to do something a little bit special! One of my favourite films is Pretty Woman so there could be only one other hotel that I needed to stay at - The Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire! It was everything I hoped for and more: from our greeting by the jolly door man to the choir of carol singers in the lobby, the spa was tranquil, the bar convivial and our room delightful. We had a tour around and saw the different rooms and suites. Ok, we learned that most of the filming was done miles from the hotel, but that didn’t dampen our spirits when we got to go in THAT elevator! It is an exceptional hotel, right on Rodeo Drive, surrounded by some of the most well-known shops in the world with impeccable service and attention to detail. The Beverley Wilshire wasn’t our only film star experience! On my actual birthday we spent the day in a 1966 red Cadillac convertible being driven around by the charismatic Johnny: what he didn’t know about LA wasn’t worth knowing! He knew who lived where with whom and what was going on. His tour, for me, is now THE tour in LA. We saw the highlights which we’d hoped for, and the secret haunts of the stars. We found beaches, shops, cafes and side streets which just aren’t in the guide books. Let’s face it, LA is a fast moving place, and I think that Johnny keeps the pace of 'what’s what', and 'who’s who' better than any book publishing company.
Whilst we managed to do lots of things whilst in LA there was still so much more we could have done had we had longer - such as Universal Studios and Disneyland over at Anaheim - and plenty of other places to travel on to from LA - such as San Diego or up the Pacific Highway to San Francisco - so will definitely be back!